Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 12, NWS Brownsville, TX

August 23, 1999Cameron County, Hidalgo County, Willacy County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at Aug 23, 1999, 11:07 PM CDT for Cameron County, Hidalgo County, Willacy County, Texas. It was in force for 53 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 23, 1999, 11:07 PM CDT (04:07 UTC)
Expired
Aug 24, 1999, 12:00 AM CDT
In force
53 min
Issued by
NWS Brownsville, TX
Area
Whole counties

Counties Cameron County, TX, Hidalgo County, TX, Willacy County, TX

The radar

The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:07 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 00:00Z, 4.1 hours before the alert went out and 60 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Brownsville Intl, TX at 00:00Z on 1999-08-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3593 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Brownsville Intl, TX at 00:00Z on 1999-08-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 37 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
3593 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
631 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
37 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
57 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KBRO 240409 RRA
TORBRO
TXC061-215-489-240500-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
1107 PM CDT MON AUG 23 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...

  NORTHWESTERN CAMERON COUNTY IN TEXAS

  SOUTHEASTERN HIDALGO COUNTY IN TEXAS
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...ALAMO...DONNA...EDCOUCH...EDINBURG...
  MERCEDES...SAN JUAN...WESLACO

  WESTERN WILLACY COUNTY IN TEXAS
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF RAYMONDVILLE

* UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT

* AT 1102 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR DONNA...MOVING NORTHEAST 
  AT 20 MPH.  THIS STORM WILL AFFECT WESLACO AND EDCOUCH BY 1120     
  PM...EVENTUALLY REACHING SANTA ROSA AND SEBASTIAN BY 1140 PM.     

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE 
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Brownsville, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Aug 23, 8:30 PM CDT, 2 hours 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 23, 8:30 PM CDT, 2 hours 37 minutes before
DEEP SOUTH TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
830 PM CDT MON AUG 23 1999

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS PERSIST OVER THE MEXICAN MOUNTAINS JUST TO THE
WEST OF ZAPATA COUNTY...EXTENDING NORTHWARD TO DEL RIO.  NESDIS
ESTIMATES AS MUCH AS 8.5 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN JUST WEST OF THE
RIVER BETWEEN LRD AND DRT.  THAT SHOULD MAKE FOR SOME GOOD FLOW
COMING DOWN INTO FALCON LAKE.

BRO SOUNDING AT 00Z SHOWS THE ATMOSPHERE CONTINUES TO STABILIZE AS
REMNANTS OF BRET CONTINUE TO MOVE WEST INTO MEXICO.  PW IS DOWN A
BIT AS WELL.  THE CLOSE PROXIMITY OF CONVECTION OUT WEST..AND PW
STILL NEAR 2.0 INCHES WILL BE ENOUGH TO CONVINCE ME TO LEAVE IN
ISOLATED POPS OVERNIGHT...BUT JUST FOR THE WEST ZONES.  WILL TAKE
POPS OUT FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN COUNTIES.  A FEW SMALL SHOWERS ALSO
CONTINUE OVER THE COASTAL WATERS THIS EVENING.

AM STILL WATCHING LOS OLMOS CREEK IN FALFURRIAS AS WATER CONTINUES
TO BE HIGH.  OFFICIALS HAVE INDICATED THAT THE RISE IS SLOWING AND
FORECASTED CREST FROM WGRFC SHOWS NEAR 10 FOOT CREST OVERNIGHT WHICH
SHOULD KEEP FLOODING AT A MINIMUM.  WILL ISSUE ANOTHER RVS AS SOON
AS NEW GAUGE DATA COMES IN.

63

.BRO...NONE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 23, 9:31 PM CDT, 1 hour 36 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
931 PM CDT MON AUG 23 1999

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0929 PM    WESLACO                   TX   TORNADO
08/23/99   HIDALGO                        LOCAL SHERRIFS OFFICE
                                          REPORTED A TORNADO 2 MILES
                                          NORTH-NORTHEAST OF WESLACO
Local storm report, Aug 23, 9:31 PM CDT, 1 hour 36 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTION FOR OCCURRENCE TIME
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
931 PM CDT MON AUG 23 1999

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0400 PM    WESLACO                   TX   TORNADO
08/23/99   HIDALGO                        LOCAL SHERRIFS OFFICE
                                          REPORTED A TORNADO 2 MILES
                                          NORTH-NORTHEAST OF WESLACO

SPEECE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Brownsville, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 23, 9:50 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBROBrooks, Kenedy4 hr
Aug 23, 10:10 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBROHidalgo3 hr
Aug 23, 10:20 PM CDTTornado WarningBROHidalgo40 min
Aug 24, 12:13 AM CDTTornado WarningBROCameron, Hidalgo62 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1999Every tornado warning in 1999Tornadoes in 1999

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.